Fans trust Ratcliffe with Old Trafford rejig

Article posted by Coliseum, October 8^th, 2024

Image: Manchester United

A whopping 85 percent fan of the Premier League team Manchester United F.C. (UK) trust INEOS to deliver a world-class new stadium for their club.

‘THE PEOPLES PERSON’ stated that the poll, which was conducted recently, was designed to canvass fans’ opinions on the redevelopment of the top-flight club’s home ground – the Old Trafford in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK).

The Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylized as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK). They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK) and is the home of the Manchester United F.C. With a capacity of 74,310, it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom and the 12th-largest in Europe.

London (UK)-based INEOS is a global chemical company that produces petrochemicals, oil products and specialty chemicals. Jim Ratcliffe is the Founder, Chairman and majority Owner of INEOS. INEOS acquired a 25 percent stake in the Manchester United football club in December 2023.

‘THE PEOPLES PERSON’ further stated that the first question related to whether the United should renovate the existing stadium or build a new one.

The most popular option is to “build a new stadium and keep Old Trafford at a reduced capacity” with 38 percent.

The second most popular option is to “demolish the Old Trafford and build a new stadium” at 35 percent.

This means in total, 73 percent of the fans are in favor of a new stadium with only 23 percent keen to “expand and fully redevelop Old Trafford”, two percent in favor of “small renovations to the Old Trafford” and a hardly two percent who think nothing needs to be done.

If a new stadium is built, 58 percent of the fans so far would prefer the old stadium to be retained for the women’s and academy teams. Twenty-two (22) percent say it should be demolished while 28 percent prefer a new smaller stadium to be built for the women and academy.

The majority of fans (54 percent) want the new (main) stadium to have a 100,000+ capacity. Twenty-four (24) percent believe the club should aim for 91,000-100,000.

The question dividing the fans the most so far is whether they would consider selling the naming rights to the new stadium. Forty-two (42) percent are happy for the new stadium to bear the name of a sponsor/investor while 40 percent say that should never happen. Eighteen (18) percent say “not right now” suggesting the club should attempt to hold off on selling the name.

The fans’ biggest priority for the new stadium so far is the atmosphere with 55 percent. Second are the ticket prices with 34 percent and third is travel and parking at six (6) percent.

Finally, only 15 percent of the fans say the new stadium could “take United back to the top of the game” with six percent saying it won’t and the remaining 79 percent saying “It will help, but the stadium is not the problem”.

The fact that 85 percent are “confident Ineos will deliver a world-class stadium for the United” will be music to the part-Owners’ ears.

Clearly despite the ongoing problems on the pitch, fans believe in the new executive management team and their ability to get United back to where they belong – feasting at the top table of world football.

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